INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT IN MEDICAL AND HEALTH INNOVATIVE ECO-SYSTEM ON INHIBITING THE COVID-19 VIRUS OUTBREAK CRISIS

Knowledge-based businesses active in the medical and health innovative eco-system play an important role in inhibiting the Covid-19 virus outbreak crisis. The current study deals with extracting and analyzing the key aspects of medical innovative eco-system and the role of innovative intermediaries in supporting the development of these businesses.

In terms of purpose, this study is developmental – applied, in terms of data collection, it is descriptive and survey and in terms of the origin of collected data, it is a mixed study (both quantitative and qualitative).The research tool for quantitative data collection was interview and qualitative data collection tool was a questionnaire created by the researchers themselves. In qualitative part, data-based method with the Glaserian approach (emergent and spontaneous) was used and in qualitative part structural equations and SMART-PLS3 software were used. The population of this study was faculty members of university of medical science (as experts) and CEOs and personnel of knowledge-based and technology-based companies that are active in medical innovative eco-system of Western Azerbaijan province, from which a sample of 162 subjects was chosen on the basis of Cochran formula.

Significance level and path coefficients of the structural model obtained from the analysis, approves the impact of ecosystem variables and developing knowledge-based businesses in controlling the Covid-19 virus outbreak crisis.

Meanwhile, the research results emphasize the role of universities and innovative intermediaries of medical innovative eco-system, which shows that “cultural and social” and “scientific and technological” aspects have the maximum effect in the development of knowledge-based businesses and innovative actions in Covid-19 virus control.